The United States and Russia met on a small Finnish island in June for confidential talks on the Ukraine crisis, the Nordic nation's foreign ministry has said.
The ministry yesterday said the meeting was held on the island of Boistoe off the southern coast of Finland, but did not divulge who participated or at what level, and also did not disclose what was discussed.
"The foreign ministry confirms that the meeting was organised and the ministry helped at the request of the (US and Russian) parties," the ministry said in a tweet, without giving more specific information.
The exact date of the meeting was unclear, but June as a whole was a period of steadily growing tension between Russia and the west amid continued fighting in eastern Ukraine between government troops and pro-Russian separatists.
Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja was quoted by public broadcaster Yle as confirming the meeting had taken place.
"If one wants political solutions... All these kinds of unofficial and private meetings are useful," he said according to Yle.
